Boys Basketball: Niles North overpowers Deerfield

Updated: January 13, 2012 11:25PM

There is no mistaking the identity of the Niles North boys basketball team. It wants to run, and then it wants to run some more.

The Vikings want to get in their opponents’ face, they want to force turnovers, they want to score in transition and they want to do it for 32 minutes.

Deerfield controlled the tempo in the first half of their CSL North matchup on Friday night, but the tide started to break late in the second quarter when North went on a 12-2 run to grab a 27-18 lead at the half.

The dam split wide open in the third quarter. The Vikings (11-5, 3-2), winners in eight of their last nine, extended the run to 27-6 over the first four minutes of the period, then coasted to a 66-48 victory over the homestanding Warriors (6-9, 2-3).

“We had to stay true to the way we play,” North coach Glenn Olson said. “They frustrated us, but we finally hit a few shots. We have to stay disciplined and be steadfast in playing the way we want to play.

“We want to be true to ourselves. With this group, winning comes before points and that’s a beautiful thing.”

After not scoring for the first 13 minutes, 5-foot-6 point guard Malachi Nix took over. He made a bucket and a free throw, then hit two deep threes off the dribble on back-to-back possessions late in the second, then dished to B.J. Beckford (15 points) for a trey at the buzzer.

Malachi started the second half with an and-one three-pointer, then the Vikings forced a five-second violation. Mychael Henley (14 points, 6 rebounds) made an and-one layup, then hit a three-pointer before Beckford quickly followed with five points of his own in a seven-second span. Malachi made another three-pointer and the game was over in a flash.

Malachi finished with a game-high 21 points, added two highlight-reel blocks and was a remarkable pest in the pocket of Deerfield’s ballhandlers. It’s all in a day’s work for the diminutive point guard, the leader of a Vikings defense that forced 24 turnovers on the night.

“I had to keep patient early on, wait for my shots and when I got them, I hit them,” Nix said. “We’re playing how we’re supposed to play, the way coaches wants us to play and demands us to play. If we keep doing that, we can keep rolling.”

Mack Watts had 14 points and eight rebounds, while Michael Alfieri finished with 14 points and seven boards for Deerfield.

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